An Accident
by Rhosan L
Summary: "Vlad sat in his study staring blankly out the window and into the evening sky. To him, the stars had always represented unreachable dreams, but now they served as a reminder of an unthinkable nightmare. This wasn't supposed to happen. Not like this. Never like this." An angsty fic for those of you looking for that.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey... I just wanted to let everyone know that this is going to be sad. I had a friend read it (who is not into DP), and it made her cry, so please proceed with caution. I won't put any warnings on this, but you should be able to figure it out just be reading the first scene...**

**An Accident**

Vlad sat in his study staring blankly out the window and into the evening sky. To him, the stars had always represented _unreachable dreams_, but now they served as a reminder of an _unthinkable nightmare_. This wasn't supposed to happen. Not like this. _Never_ like this. He closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. How could this all have gone so wrong so quickly?

Vlad felt a ghostly presence behind him, but he wasn't concerned. He had many spectral servants. He furrowed his brow as he felt the ghost signature more closely. No. This ghost felt wrong. Different, yet familiar… _Younger_ even…

Eyes popping open, Vlad shot out of his chair and changed forms. Turning around, he felt his breath catch in his throat as he saw the last being he wanted to see at that moment. "Daniel." He breathed softly. The ghost boy had entered the room and was now staring the man down with emotionless eyes.

Vlad was usually not one to be caught with nothing to say, but now… What _could_ he say? "Daniel, I—That was _not_ supposed to happen. It was _an accident_. I had no intention—" He stopped as he realized that Danny hadn't moved. In fact, he hadn't even redirected his gaze at all. Usually, the boy was at least semi-aware of his surroundings when he fought Vlad. Not that he was at the moment. Fighting Vlad, that is.

Vlad took a step forward, but there was no change in Daniel. He took another, then another, then suddenly he was standing directly in front of the boy. He reached for the boy's chin and lifted it so their eyes met. Vlad studied his gaze before his eyes softened. "Oh, Daniel…" he choked out as he leaned down and embraced the boy. The boy who was now fully ghost.

* * *

_Earlier that day…_

Danny was fuming. He knew Vlad had a sick evil plot, but now he was powerless to do anything about it. Literally. Vlad had snuck up on him and zapped him with the Plasmius Maximus. That had _hurt!_ He hated being zapped with that thing. He could always feel the moment he lost all connection with his ghost half. It left him with an empty feeling. After zapping him with it, the man lectured him about being "aware of his surroundings" before smuggly telling him he had extended its capabilities to eight hours, but he could potentially turn it up to _twelve_ hours.

It was bad enough having to deal with being zapped with it, but about fifteen minutes later, ghost activity seemed to pick up an unusual amount. Not suspicious timing at all…

_You're not allowed to fight anything more than a level two ghost until you get your powers back._ His sister had instructed him after the first few times of him getting blasted. He had begrudgingly agreed with her as he _apparently_ didn't have a habit of avoiding the blasts. No. Instead, he would just stand there like an idiot and try to turn intangible. He ended up getting hit a lot in the first hour of him and his friends trying to fight off the influx of ghosts. He grit his teeth as he was hit by another ectoblast of another lower level ghost. _Another one?! How many did that make now?_ Danny thought.

"That's the eighth one in the last twenty-four minutes." Jazz unknowingly answered his thoughts. Danny looked up morosely.

Jazz's gaze softened at his miserable look. "Look, Danny. I know you're frustrated at the situation, but look on the bright side. You only have—" Jazz paused to look at a timer they had set up for how long Danny Phantom would be out of commission "—a little more than four hours to go. That's almost half-way!"

Danny scowled at her positivity. That only meant he had been getting his butt handed to him for the last four hours by ghosts he normally wouldn't have given a second thought about.

"That's once every three minutes." a voice spoke up.

"Hey, Tucker," Danny muttered a greeting. He wanted to go off into a corner and hide. It was humiliating being this bad at ghost hunting when he had been doing it for quite some time now. He wasn't even this bad when he first started.

"Dude, when you get your powers back, you are so going to kick butt. And when this is all over, I'm going to take great pleasure in teaching you the ways of ghost hunting _without_ powers." Tucker smirked, but at seeing the chagrin at the jab he added, "Don't feel too bad about it, Danny. I wasn't that great at it either when I first started. I just needed some time and practice. _You_, on the other hand, have only practiced _with_ ghost powers. Even when you were human you could still access them to use them."

"I've already thought of all that," Danny commented, "but that doesn't—" he paused to sigh, "…I'm only useful for my ghost powers."

"Well, I'm not gonna lie, having you with ghost powers is pretty swee—_ow!_ Jazz! I wasn't done!" Tucker complained rubbing his upper arm. "What I was _going_ to say was: having you with ghost powers is pretty sweet, _but_," Tucker looked pointedly at Jazz, "you are more than the sum of your parts. Your ghost powers don't make or break you as a part of this team!"

Danny gave him a strange look. "So what you're saying is that I'm better than some parts of me?"

Thinking that Danny had understood him perfectly, Tucker nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, exactly!"

Understanding exactly what was going on, Jazz intervened. "Danny, he's using a math metaphor. It basically means that you as a whole is better than any one part of you." Danny nodded in understanding. Satisfied that her brother understood, she turned to the other boy, "Tucker, you should know better than to use a mathematical metaphor with Danny! Why would you do something like that?"

Tucker looked sheepish for a moment before his eyes widened in alarm, "Uh… guys…?"

"What, Tucker?" Danny questioned. "You look like you've seen a—" Danny paused as he realized that was a very real possibility. Danny and Jazz both turned to look behind them and did _not_ see a ghost. That, however, was not a relief. Instead, they saw the cause of all their problems—Vlad Masters.

The man was smiling down at them his eyes specifically fixed on Danny. "My dear boy," he began, "it seems that you have been having a terrible time aspiring to be like your imbecilic oaf of a father."

Danny growled. He did not have any desire to sit here with no powers and listen to this fruitloop degrade his dad. "What do you want, Plasmium?" the boy questioned then added, "We know you increased the ghost activity around here." He then folded his arms and smirked, "I would think that as the _mayor_, you would be more _responsible_ than that."

The man's smile didn't falter. If anything it widened. "I was only thinking what a pity it would be if your parents were to…see all the recordings of you being injured because of your aspirations to be a ghost hunter _just like them_." As he was saying this, he produced a device to show several short video clips of Danny using ghost tech that obviously belonged to his parents and being shot by ghost ectoplasmic rays several times in rapid succession to each other. "How worried they might be." the man continued, "How _excited_ they might be…" he added with a smirk.

Danny did not seem to follow the man's thinking, but Jazz did. "You get rid of those videos and don't show them to Mom and Dad!" she demanded. "You know Danny will only get hurt if you do."

Vlad seemed to take her words deep into consideration before replying, "But what kind of caring uncle would I be not to show the utmost concern for sweet Daniel… Besides," he added, "I have a reason for increasing local ghost activity." He fixed them all with a stern glare before continuing, "You need to, as you might call it, 'bottom out' of this fight."

"No _way!_/Okay." Danny and Jazz both answered at the same time.

They both looked at each other before Danny yelled out, "Jazz, what are you thinking? We can't just surrender like that! So what if Vlad shows the video to Mom and Dad! It's not like it shows me in my ghost form."

Jazz pressed her lips together before replying, "You're right, Danny. It _doesn't_ show you in your ghost form, but it does show something almost as bad." Danny furrowed his brows in confusion. Seeing this, his sister supplied, "It shows that you are _interested_ in ghost hunting, Danny, and that you're _bad_ at it. It shows that you need to be taught by a trained professional. Now, imagine if Mom and Dad were to see that video. They would be overjoyed by your 'secret wish' to become a ghost hunter just like them. They would _insist_ on teaching you, and showing you how to use new tech—weapons—and we already know how bad it is when they're just _showcasing_ them to you. Imagine how much worse it would be if they were to force you to _practice _using them constantly. Either you will get seriously hurt or your secret will be discovered within maybe a week!"

Danny gaped at his sister's words. Could it really get that bad. He looked back over at the billionaire who was smiling even more than before. He then looked over at Tucker. "What about you?" Danny asked his friend "Do you agree with what she said?"

Tucker's lips pressed together in a thin line as he nodded. Danny closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This couldn't be happening. "Alright." Danny hissed through clenched teeth.

"Ah-ah…" Vlad wagged a finger at him. "I'm not letting you off that easy, boy!" The man looked like he was enjoying this immensely. "Although your attempts to do some, ahem, 'ghost hunting' have been hilariously unsuccessful, your group still has set me back a little. Since I feel that I cannot fully trust you to not attempt to stop me, I am going to insist that you meet me outside of town at a secluded location." The man paused to give it a moment's thought. "The train tracks is an acceptable location. You must meet me there to have your powers short-circuited for merely two more hours. That will make ten full hours that you have no ghost powers, and I do not think that will be too detrimental to your health." the man looked at Danny expectantly.

"And if I don't…" Danny seemed to know there was some sort of stipulation that Vlad would add.

"Then I suppose dear Madison and Jack will have a very interesting video to watch tonight…" Vlad hinted with a smirk.

"I'll be there." Danny folded his arms and narrowed his eyes. "Ten minutes before my powers return."

Vlad paused for a moment to think before nodding approvingly, "If that is your wish, I suppose I can allow that ten minute window."

"Very generous of you, Vlad." Jazz commented with an eye roll.

Vlad raised his eyebrows at her comment before beginning to walk away. "I shall see you then. Ta!"

There was a tense silence for a few moments after the man left before Tucker broke it. "Well, on the bright side, it's almost like we're getting a break…" he tried.

"I guess we can do some snooping around to find out what Vlad's evil scheme is…" Jazz offered. "I mean, with the four of us, we can really cover a lot of ground!"

Danny and Tucker's eyes both widened as they realized they had forgotten something—or rather some_one_—very important. They both turned to face each other as they yelled out in unison, "SAM!"

* * *

_Four hours later..._

Danny _refused_ to stomp his foot in frustration. That would be childish. And how his luck had been going today, Vlad would show up just in time to see him acting childish, and he did _not _want that. The man had a low enough opinion of him as it is.

The group had updated Sam on what was going on, and she agreed with Jazz. Split up, cover more ground, and try to find out what this was all about! They had come up with nothing. Half an hour before they were supposed to meet Vlad, they reassembled to figure out what to do about Danny meeting with the man. _Technically, _the man had said nothing about Danny coming alone, _however,_ if it appeared that Danny had come alone, then one of his friends could shadow the man to figure out _what he was up to_.

The plan was simple: Vlad comes, Danny loses his powers, Vlad leaves, and Jazz would follow Vlad as best as she could keeping in mind that Vlad did have powers that could frustrate those plans. Danny was also given a tracking device to try to plant on Vlad. Tucker would track it via his PDA, and Sam would go to that location in the event Jazz could no longer follow him. They all were fitted with comm-links that also served as a GPS signal. It was an easy plan that impressed everyone with its simplicity and duplicity. Danny was very proud to have come up with it.

As Danny waited for the man, he entertained himself by walking on the railroad tracks. _Why does everybody always do this when they're on railroad tracks? _Danny mused to himself. Jumping off, Danny made himself stand and wait patiently. _Come on! Where __**is**_ _he? I've been standing here for almost…ten minutes. _Danny felt like an idiot. Of course the man would make him stand here for ten minutes doing nothing!

A chilled wind swept by, and Danny shivered. "I suppose you did not realize this, but you are more susceptible to temperature change without your ghost powers. It just comes with having a ghost core." A voice behind Danny startled him.

Danny had had it. He had a pretty rotten morning before all of this with Vlad happened. He was thankful that it was summer time, so there was no school tomorrow, but so far, that had been the only thing about today that was positive. Here he was tired, hungry, frustrated, and had no powers before his enemy who was about to make sure that he was about to lose his powers again for another two hours.

"Just get it over with." is what he _wanted_ to say, but he had a mission.

_I need to place the tracker on him. _

"Vlad…" he began. He realized that he sounded tired. "what are you playing at here? What's your _endgame?_" He lifted his gaze and saw the man regarding him seriously. Vlad sat down on one of the tracks and patted a place next to him. Hesitantly, Danny sat in the indicated spot. They sat silently for a moment both simply staring at the stars. A man and a boy. Both halfas yet both enemies by some twist of fate.

"Daniel." the man regarded him, "What do you see when you look up there?"

Danny looked strangely at the man and held back a comment about that being a "fruitloop question." Instead he though for a moment before replying, "Billions of stars… planets… galaxies… it's endless. We will never be able to see all that's out there."

Vlad watched as the younger halfa stared in awe by the heavens. "That's what I want, Daniel." Vlad slipped an arm around the boy and gestured open-handed to the celestial bodies. "To reach—to _possess_—what is determined by everyone else to be…_unreachable._" At that final word, Vlad's hand closed into a fist. The effect made it appear as if the man had been presenting it to Danny before snatching it up.

Danny pondered for a moment. _What does Vlad think is "unreachable"? Definitely my mom..._

Danny supposed that Vlad's little mini-speech was supposed to be _inspiring_, but coming from the man, he felt that he couldn't appreciate it to its fullest capacity. _Wait a minute… He's avoiding the question!_ Danny realized. "You didn't exactly answer the question." Danny pointed out.

"Now, Daniel," Vlad smirked at him, "you cannot expect me to tell you _everything_ I am doing. After all, I do have important mayoral duties to attend to…" Vlad added airily.

"Ugh!" Danny exclaimed shoving him as he staggered to his feet. "You're—You're…Ugh! I can't stand you sometimes, Plasmius." Danny turned around to see the man standing with the Plasmius Maximus ready for use.

"I see you are done talking now, however, if you wish to continue this conversation, allow me to give you a way to communicate with me in a moment's notice." The man handed Danny a small device just large enough to fit in the palm of his hand. "Simply press this button to contact me." the man explained handing it to boy.

"Just get it over with." Danny echoed the words he had wanted to say earlier.

"I'm going to enjoy this." The man stated simply before stepping toward the younger halfa. Without any further pomp, he thrust the Plasmius Maximus into the boy's side.

Danny screamed. He knew the moment was just that—a moment. That moment, however, seemed to last hours. He was in agony. What made it worse was that in the split second before he was shocked he felt his ghost core flicker to life before it was brutally snuffed out again. It wouldn't have been so bad if he had not felt that momentary connection with his ghost half. Danny's dramatic side mentally pictured his ghost half as a man dying of thirst who was given some water but was only allowed to have a small cap-full.

The moment ended, and Danny found himself on the ground with a sheen of sweat on his skin. For a small moment he simply stared into the sky panting. The moment was ruined when Vlad's face appeared in his field of vision. His face showed concern for the boy. He, apparently, did not expect this second shock to affect the boy like this. Danny face contorted into a snarl as he growled. "Get away! Get away, Vlad, get _away!_"

Vlad hesitated for a moment before taking a step back. The man turned his back on the younger halfa and began a purposeful march away from the boy. Vlad paused for a moment, then looked over his shoulder to the boy, "I will 'get away' from you, but you must stay out of _my way_ or someone is going to end up hurt." With that, the man left Danny laying next to the tracks. In his rage, Danny took the communication device the man had given him and threw it as far as he could.

* * *

_Dude! Did you get the tracker planted?!_ Tucker asked as soon as the man was gone.

Danny groaned. He was sore all over, and now he had Tucker yelling in his ear. He reached up to the comm Tucker had provided for all of them to wear. "Uhh…Yeah." Danny moaned out.

_We won't need it,_ insisted his sister's voice over the comms. _I'm on his trail. He's following the train tracks._

_I can see him on my PDA, and I can see that your comm is connected, Jazz. Good job. I wish __**everybody**_ _would connect their comm… _Tucker's voice carried a hint of sarcasm.

_I __**know **__you're talking about me, Tucker, but I just can't seem to figure this out! _Sam's voice seemed irritated. _I wish this was a little easier. Like some sort of button or switch or—oh…_ There was a pause over the comms.

_There we go, Sam! I can see you on the GPS now._ Praised Tucker.

_Alright, guys, let's get a bit serious here. _Jazz interrupted. _He's ahead of me, but still in my sight. I'll have to keep quiet though so he doesn't hear me. Oh, and keep a lookout for any sharp metal pieces on the railroad tracks. They're a bit old, and it's dark, and I almost stepped on one, so… _

There was silence for several minutes that seemed to fray on everybody's nerves. Finally, Tucker spoke up over the comms, _Jazz, I don't know if you realize this, but he's heading away from town. Like, in the opposite direction._

_I know, but what if whatever he's doing is out of town… _Jazz mused. _That wouldn't be __**unheard of.**_ She pointed out. _He __**is**_ _from Wisconsin._

Danny cut in, _Ok, but… be careful, Jazz._

* * *

Danny, Sam, and Tucker had met up in their spare time. Tucker was busy monitoring the GPS signal from the tracker and Jazz's comm. They remained equi-distant from each other. Everything seemed to be going smoothly until—

_Guys! _Jazz's voice cut through the comm-link _He's flying away. Initiate Phase Two. _

Sam didn't need to be told twice. She was off with a small device that was connected to Vlad's tracker. _It looks like he circled back towards town. I guess he realized what we did and is trying to throw us off his trail._

Danny pounded his fist into the ground. He felt like he was wasting his time just sitting here. Usually, he was the one out on the field doing groundwork, but now… Now he couldn't help with anything. _I just wish I could do __**something!**_ He thought angrily with himself.

"Jazz, are you headed back?" Tucker asked into the comm.

_One step ahead of you! I started as soon as Vlad took off. You guys take care of things on your end and I'll—AHHH!_ Jazz was suddenly cut off from her comm.

"JAZZ!" her friends called out in worry for her.

"She's not answering, Danny…" That itself was worrisome enough, but Danny could hear a note of pain in her scream when she had been cut off.

"Show me where she is." Danny immediately instructed Tucker. "I'm going to make sure she's alright."

Tucker pointed to her dot that represented her location. "Here."

Danny didn't waste any time. He began sprinting in the direction the GPS had indicated. _Danny, _Tucker's voice came over the comm _all you have to do is follow the tracks. She's somewhere along them._

Danny didn't answer. He was saving his breath for the long run he would have before he would get to his sister.

* * *

Jazz was not normally one to be clumsy, but she had really done it this time. _I thought this kind of thing only happened in movies and TV shows…_ Jazz internally complained to herself. Her foot was caught on the railroad track which wouldn't be such a big deal as there was no train coming and she could, in theory, very easily get it uncaught.

There was one problem though… Well, maybe more than one… Her foot was not just _stuck_ it was _impaled, _and when she had fallen, the metal piece that her foot was "stuck" on bent from the force of her fall_._ Her foot was hurting, yes, but that wasn't the extent of it. When she had fallen, she had also slammed her elbow against the track, and, she was pretty sure, shattered it. Again, it wouldn't be such a big deal if it was not her right elbow (her dominant hand), but it was. She was also pretty sure she had hit her head on the way down, but there was no way of knowing. It was all a blur really… It also wasn't helping that the moon was only half full—there wasn't very much lighting to see (not that she couldn't have done much anyway…).

She shakily reached her hand to touch her foot. Her body was trying to catch up with all the things that had simultaneously happened to her. She quickly pulled her hand back with a cry only to cry out again as her jerk back had jostled her injuries. _Okay, I get it. No more moving! _She promised herself as she settled down and did her best not to cry. She also had an increasing headache which she knew was _not_ good. Her head wasn't _bleeding_, at least. When everything was said and done, she could feel her foot, head, and elbow throbbing all together. Was it her imagination, or was it synchronized with her heartbeat?

_I need to let them know what happened._ The logical part of her mind supplied. She reached up to activate her comm-link and was surprised when she found nothing attached to her ear. She looked around sluggishly and caught sight of it several feet down the track. _There's no way… I can't get that! My body isn't even that long… _Jazz would have yelled with the small hope that the comm could still pick her voice up, but she knew that the microphone on it could only be activated by pressing the button on the side.

Jazz could feel panic bubbling up inside her. _No, Jazz! No panicking allowed. If you panic, you're as good as dead._ That wayward thought brought up an unpleasant image. Jazz shook her head to get rid of it only to regret it as her headache worsened. _Okay, Jasmine Fenton. Positive thought it is, then. At least… At least there's no train coming… _Her thoughts were interrupted by a faint whistle blowing. _Uhmmm…_ _Maybe a little bit of panic is okay…_

* * *

Tucker waited and watched. What else could he do? He had sat down several feet away from the railroad tracks. He had his PDA in his hand and watched the screen. Two dots—Vlad's and Sam's—were the only things he was focused on. His focus, however, was ruined by an approaching train blowing its whistle. Tuckers head shot up, and his eyes widened in horror. He reached up to his comm-link and connected with Danny. "Uhm… Danny…? We have a problem."

_Yeah? _Danny's ragged voice came over the comm. Tucker could tell he was giving it everything he had, but Danny might have to give a bit more than that…

"There's a train coming down the tracks." There was silence on the other end. "Danny…"

_You need…to stop it… _Danny panted between phrases. _We don't know…if Jazz…is still…on the tracks…or not…, but we know…her comm is.…_ Danny paused. Apparently, sprinting and talking could not be done at the same time. _We can't take that chance. _He finished more strongly.

Tucker nodded. "I'll try to stop it or slow it down, but I'm not sure I will be able to…"

_You can do it. _Danny gasped out. _I know you can! _He paused for a moment longer before adding, _Tucker… please tell me…I'm close…_

Tucker checked his PDA. "You're closing in on her. Or her comm-link at least… I really hope she's not separated from it, or it will be a lot harder finding her." Tucker stood to his feet and placed his PDA in a safe location outside the railroad area.

_I disagree. _Stated Danny. _I hope…she's off the tracks… It would be...safer for her…if she's not… on them..._

Tucker didn't respond to that. He knew Danny made a very good point. This could turn deadly very quickly. "Danny, please, stay off the tracks." he pleaded before he himself ran over to the tracks.

It was all up to Tucker now. He just _had_ to stop that train! He began waving his arms frantically to get the conductor's attention. _What am I even going to tell him? "Hi, my friend is farther down the track, and his sister is even __**farther**_ _down the track, and we don't know if she's okay…" _Tucker shook his head to clear it. _Let's do this._

* * *

Darias wiped his face for what seemed to be the hundredth time. He hated being a train engineer, but it paid fairly decent and it _did_ keep him fairly active. The one thing that he most definitely hated the most was the kids. Oh, he didn't have kids riding the trains, it was more the kids in the towns they went through would always dare each other to "egg the train" or "play chicken with the train." Honestly, it irked him that kids would try to play around with something so _dangerous!_ Didn't they know they could be hurt! He had seen too many news stories throughout his life—before and after he became a train engineer—of young people getting killed because they thought they could outrun a train, or they were playing around with it too much.

Additionally, in the past few weeks, many trains have been robbed. He had to admit, the setup was very clever. The thieves would place old, empty, broken-down cars on the tracks (not all the time, but that seemed to be their favorite) so the train would stop. Once the train was stopped, the thieves would board the train and rob it. All trains had been given official instructions not to stop for any reason unless they were contacted by the authorities to do so. This satisfied Darias. It's about time people started using common sense. He wanted the thieves to just _try_ to rob him!

He suddenly noticed a figure down the tracks. Leaning forward and squinting, Darias saw the distinguishable shape of a young man trying frantically to flag down the train. The young man did indeed seem to be genuinely distressed about something, but… orders were orders. "Get out of the way, kid." he muttered under his breath. "I'm not stopping for you."

Seeing that the boy was firm in his resolve, the man set his jaw. "There's nothing to steal from this train! Just move out of the way!" The man realized the boy was not moving.

"So… that's how it's gonna be. I don't know if this is just some dumb kids playing chicken or if it really is the thieves, but I will not _stop_." With those words, he sped the locomotive up as he blew the train's whistle in warning. _I'm not gonna stop, so please…just __**move! **_Darius closed his eyes and fervently prayed there was no impact.

* * *

Tucker's eyes widened. _He's not slowing down. He's __**not**_ _slowing down! _Tucker stood there staring the train down as it almost seemed that the train sped _up_ as it blew its whistle. The tracks shook violently, and the lights became blinding. At the last second, Tucker threw himself off the tracks.

With a grunt, he rolled down the knoll and stopped as his momentum subsided. Picking himself up from the ground, he turned to see the train continue down the track. Down the track and towards his friends!

With a shaking hand, he reached for his comm. "Danny…? Danny, I—I couldn't do it! It's still headed for you! I'm—I'm so sorry!"

_Jazz is stuck on the tracks. I can't get her off! Tucker, I don't know what to do…! _Danny's frantic voice came through.

"I'll try to do something, but I don't think there's much more I can do!" Tucker answered back. He looked around frantically for something he could use to help. Where had he left his PDA? Tucker froze as he seemed to realize where it was. Slowly, he looked toward the train.

"Please don't tell me I jumped on the other side of the train from my PDA…" he muttered to himself.

"Arrg!" In his frustration, Tucker grabbed his hat and threw it on the ground in front of him. In the microsecond before his hat landed, his eyes landed on a different piece of technology—technology that was not his but that could still be useful. Tucker picked up his hat then picked up the object. "Please let this work…" he said to himself.

* * *

Danny just couldn't believe that his sister was so far out! He still didn't see her. He must have been running for a mile straight at least! To make matters worse, he was pretty sure was running up a slight incline. _Hopefully, downhill is a bit easier… _No sooner had he had that thought, than he crested the hill.

"Jazz!" Danny called out to her as he caught sight of his sister. She was slumped down on the railroad track cradling her right arm. Her eyes which had been squeezed shut in pain and panic opened, and she looked over at her brother.

"Danny!" she stood slowly as she cried out, "I'm stuck here. My foot—My foot is caught!" Her voice carried a sense of urgency. Danny slowed as he reached her, but said nothing as he was out of breath. "I can't use my hand because my elbow is hurt." Jazz continued to explain. "I've tried to get it out, but I just…can't…"

Without wasting any time, Danny reached down to where her foot was caught. He was startled by his sister's cry of pain. He pulled back his hand quickly and looked up at his sister for an explanation. "My foot is impaled." She explained. "And the metal is bent, so I can't just pull it off."

Danny's lips set in a determined line. He needed to evaluate it a bit more before working on it. Danny worked in silence for a moment before grunting in frustration. "I wish we had more light…" he grumbled. "Even if I still had my _powers_, I would be able to use my ghost vision to see better. And if I had my powers, I would just phase your foot off the metal."

After feeling that he had looked at it as much as he could, he reached for the jagged metal piece that had pierced Jazz's foot. _Got it! Now all I have to do it unbend it. If it was straight before, it __**should**_ _be able to bend back that way… _He thought triumphantly as he grabbed it firmly and gave it a hard pull. His hand slipped, and he gasped as he almost lost his balance before going back and trying again. He grabbed it differently this time but frowned as he realized something. The metal was now wet. _Are my hands __**that**_ _sweaty…Yikes! _He pulled again and yelled out in pain.

Bringing up his hand to his face, he stared at it in horror. He had sliced his hand open. The cut was very deep and bleeding heavily. He looked up at Jazz who had a similar look on her face.

Before either of them could say anything, Danny and Jazz heard a distant train whistle. Jazz looked worried, but Danny relaxed. "It's okay. Tucker is stopping it." he explained. His sister looked relieved, but it was not to last.

Danny's comm activated. _Danny… Danny, I—I couldn't do it! It's still headed for you! I'm—I'm so sorry!_

"Jazz is stuck on the tracks. I can't get her off! Tucker, I don't know what to do…!" Danny frantically answered him.

_I'll try to do something, but I don't think there's much more I can do!_ Tucker replied hurriedly.

Danny stared in horror at his sister. "It's still coming." In a frenzied hurry, Danny continued to try to loosen the metal piece from Jazz's foot, but to no avail. With his hand injured, poor lighting, and the metal piece now being slippery with blood, it now seemed an impossible task to get his sister free. Danny realized that this was not working. "What are we gonna do…?" He breathed.

* * *

Vlad realized that outwitting children was by no means something he should feel accomplishment for, but it sure felt nice to get the better of them once in a while. He realized very early that Jasmine had been following him, so he continued for about a mile. When he felt he had led her far enough away for her time to be considered "wasted," he transformed into Plasmius and took to the sky. Knowing there was no way for them to follow him, he became very smug about the whole thing.

While he was immersed in these thoughts, he received a notification that Daniel was trying to reach him via the device Vlad had given him. Though Vlad was glad Daniel was reaching out to him, the timing seemed a bit suspicious. He had estimated Daniel to take a few days or maybe weeks… Ah, well! He wasn't going to complain. He pressed a button to connect the two devices.

"Daniel, I'm so glad you called."

_Vlad._ answered a voice that was most definitely not Daniel. Vlad frowned and was about to hang up on Daniel's little friend, but the voice continued. _Danny needs help!_

Vlad said nothing. Instead he waited patiently for the voice to continue. "He and Jazz are up the railroad tracks, and there's a train coming. Jazz is _stuck_ on the tracks, and you know Danny's not gonna move without her…"

Vlad listened. It did sound like heavy machinery in the background. Vlad felt his stomach drop. If Jasmine was indeed stuck on the tracks, he wouldn't put it past Daniel to not abandon her. With his powers missing, he would be all but useless to be of any aid to his sister. _I need to help Daniel._ He decided.

There was one problem with that, and that problem was the thing that was causing Daniel to have issues now—Daniel had no powers. Under normal circumstances, Vlad would have been able to instantly teleport to Daniel's precise location, but this was due to Vlad being able to feel Daniel's ghost signature. Since his core was being suppressed at the moment, Vlad could not feel Danny's location.

This was going to be difficult. If Jasmine was stuck in the location he left her (which he knew she was _not_, but he was being speculative), that was close to a mile away from the group's original spot (where he assumed Daniel's friend to be at the moment). That left him with less than a mile between her and the train. He knew that trains traveled close to sixty miles per hour under normal conditions, he could only hope this there were abnormal conditions tonight…

That gave them only about one minute to find and save the both of them. Probably less than that if he was being completely honest.

"I would need to see his location. Preferably on a GPS system of some sort. You wouldn't happen to have one available showing his location would you…?"

_Actually, I do!_ Tucker claimed. _I'm in the spot you and Danny met._

Without another word, Vlad was changed into a ghost before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

Several yards away, Sam had just emerged from the bushes. Her eyes were glued to the device showing where Vlad was located. Before that moment, it had shown that she was almost there, but something happened. The dot disappeared then reappeared back at the railroad tracks right where everything had begun.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me…" Sam mumbled under her breath as she began the long trek back to the railroad tracks outside of town.

* * *

When Vlad had realized that he was indeed a half ghost all those years ago, he had studied and experimented. Teleportation was just one of his _many_ abilities. Teleportation was simply the breakdown of his spectral energy to be relocated to a different place. Spectral energy was _fast_—faster than the speed of light. Usually, teleportation was a thing of convenience for Vlad, but tonight, he was hoping its speed would be the thing that would save Daniel's life.

Plasmius appeared high above the train and searched for Daniel's friend. The train was still _clacking_ down the track. Vlad frowned as he realized that he would have to teleport to Daniel's location in a similar fashion. He couldn't just teleport _to_ Daniel; he would have to first teleport to his _location_ before teleporting to the boy. All of that went through his mind in a milisecond. As those thoughts were going through his head, he spotted Daniel's friend, and transported himself to the boy.

"Show me where they are." the man demanded. There was no time for trivialities.

Tucker suddenly became nervous, but knowing there was not much time, he shook it off as best he could. "I don't have it with me." Before the man could say anything degrading toward him for wasting his time, he pointed. "It's on the other side of the train."

Without another word, the ghost grabbed his arm and teleported them to the other side of the locomotive. Tucker instantly took off in the direction of his PDA doing his best to ignore the queasy feeling in his stomach from teleporting for the first time. Grabbing the device, Tucker quickly pointed to the two dots representing the location of Danny and Jazz. Vlad took a mere second to study the map before simply vanishing. There were very few precious seconds that he had to save them.

Tucker settled down to watch the dots on the screen and listened to the comm for anything.

* * *

_I'm not getting out of here… _Jazz realized. She stifled a sob as she looked down at her brother who was still doing everything to free his sister. _Danny…_ Her eyes welled with tears. _He's so self-sacrificing that it wouldn't surprise me if he tried to stay with me until… _She was snatched from her thoughts as she felt slight tremors vibrate through her injured foot. Jazz bit back a groan. This was going to hurt a lot…

"You need to leave, Danny!" Jazz felt her tears spill from her eyes. "The train will be here soon, and you can't get me off this."

Danny's eyes widened as an idea formulated in his mind. "That's because I've been doing it wrong." Jazz looked at him confused between sniffs. "I can't pull you off, so I need to pull you _off_." He supplied unhelpfully. His miming of pulling Jazz off the tracks was maybe a _little_ more helpful, but not much.

But Jazz seemed to understand what he meant. "Danny." Jazz firmly grabbed Danny's arms as she stared straight into his eyes so he would be able to see how serious she was about this. "I would _literally_ rather _die_ than for you to put me through that pain. I've had an earring pull through my lobe at one point, and that _hurt_. You would be doing that to my _entire foot!_" Danny seemed to want to say something, but Jazz cut him off. "I don't know if it's just me or what it is, but my foot hurts now more than it did earlier. If I had thought of it first thing, then maybe, but now…"

"We have to try." Danny insisted. He heard the train now. It was getting closer. Without any warning, he grabbed Jazz around her middle and began pulling. Realizing what he was doing and instantly feeling as if her entire foot were being pulled off, Jazz screamed out for her brother to stop as she began smacking him with her good hand for all she was worth. What they both didn't realize was that there was a reason why Jazz perceived more pain now than before. Due to the injury, her foot had started swelling which caused the metal piece to become even more imbedded into her wound. Her wound was actually _tightening_ around the foreign object. Pulling her off the metal piece the way Danny envisioned would _technically_ work, but it would be immensely painful for Jazz.

Jazz did realized, of course, that he was simply trying to _save her life_, but as she had stated earlier… "I can't." she now openly sobbed. "I'm not—I'm not strong enough…"

"Jazz…" Danny's voice broke. He couldn't stand to see his sister hurt. "I can't just _leave_ you!"

"You have to, Danny. This is my choice. Now go!" Jazz shouted as she pushed him away with her one good hand. _Please just go…_

Danny was pushed several feet back (far enough away that the train wouldn't harm him at least) and landed on his back. The force of him landing on his back knocked the wind out of him. He gasped in air, but couldn't release it. Danny felt panic begin to bubble up in him. _I. Can't. Breathe._ He began opening and closing his mouth desperately to release the stale air from his lungs. It wasn't enough.

Danny felt the increasing tremors in the ground that signaled the oncoming vehicle. _I have to do something!_ With great inner strength, Danny pushed himself off the ground, and stumbled to his feet. Though he still struggled breathing, he forced himself to walk toward his sister. _I have to do __**something!**_

Jazz was openly weeping and begging her brother—her baby brother—to _please, please, please save yourself._ She could tell the train would be there any moment. Danny would barely have time to get to her before it arrived. Jazz kneeled down (as best as she could with an impaled foot) and wept. There had never been a time that she was more frightened. She knew she would die. She had come to terms with that, but to die knowing that her brother would die alongside her needlessly…? She didn't know how to deal with that.

She suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around her protectively. She knew it was selfish, but she was immensely comforted by it. "I'm here, Jazz." was all she heard before the sounds of the train drowned everything out.

It was the metal spike that kept her nailed to the track, but it was her brother's love that kept him from being removed.

* * *

_I just __**have**_ _to be in time! _Vlad though as he appeared above Danny's location. He quickly looked down to find the pair clinging to each other in desperation. No sooner had he visually located the pair, than the train was upon them. Vlad felt his stomach drop.

"_NO!"_ the man shouted in desperation as he teleported. Spectral energy was _fast_—faster than the speed of light—but no amount of speed can make up for time that is simply _not_ available. Vlad made sure to turn himself intangible upon his arrival to be able to grab the siblings from danger. He realized with a sick feeling, however, that the pair was not _there_.

Vlad couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. He had been too late. He didn't even notice when the train was gone. He simply stood there and stared down where the two had been moments before. _I'm too late. _He thought to himself as he sank to his knees continuing to stare. He allowed himself to turn human again.

It was several moments before he realized what exactly it was he was staring at. There on the track lay a solitary foot—a foot that had been impaled on a metal spike sticking up from the railroad tracks. The shoe was still even on it. Apparently, Jazz foot had been so stuck, it had been left there. With a cry of revulsion at the gruesome sight, Vlad scrambled back several feet.

The man paused and looked down at a strange-shaped rock his hand was resting on. He picked it up to observe it more carefully.

Vlad gave a mirthless laugh. He was holding a communication device most likely belonging to Daniel or possibly Jasmine. No doubt this was the way he received the location from Daniel's friend. He pressed the button that allowed him to speak into it.

The man gave a shaky breath before speaking, "Mr. Foley. Miss Manson. Go home and get some rest." Before either of them could reply, the man crushed the comm-link between his fingers. If they listened to him, they would get one final night of rest before a genuine nightmare began for them. It was the least he could do. He himself also needed to go home. _I'm going to have to find a way to tell Madison and Jack before the evening is over..._

Vlad cupped his face in his hands and moaned, "This was not supposed to happen…" _Not like this. __**Never**_ _like this…_

**A/N: I told you... I made an alternate ending that is not so sad. I'll put it up as the next chapter.**

**And as always, thanks for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Just so you know, I took out the first scene because I couldn't think of a way to make this end better with it in, so it's not in here. The first half(ish) is the same of this chapter though, so don't be confused if it all seems to be the same. I'll put an (*) where it diverges from the original, so if you want to skip down to it, you may.**

Danny was fuming. He knew Vlad had a sick evil plot, but now he was powerless to do anything about it. Literally. Vlad had snuck up on him and zapped him with the Plasmius Maximus. That had _hurt!_ He hated being zapped with that thing. He could always feel the moment he lost all connection with his ghost half. It left him with an empty feeling. After zapping him with it, the man lectured him about being "aware of his surroundings" before smuggly telling him he had extended its capabilities to eight hours, but he could potentially turn it up to _twelve_ hours.

It was bad enough having to deal with being zapped with it, but about fifteen minutes later, ghost activity seemed to pick up an unusual amount. Not suspicious timing at all…

_You're not allowed to fight anything more than a level two ghost until you get your powers back._ His sister had instructed him after the first few times of him getting blasted. He had begrudgingly agreed with her as he _apparently_ didn't have a habit of avoiding the blasts. No. Instead, he would just stand there like an idiot and try to turn intangible. He ended up getting hit a lot in the first hour of him and his friends trying to fight off the influx of ghosts. He grit his teeth as he was hit by another ectoblast of another lower level ghost. _Another one?! How many did that make now?_ Danny thought.

"That's the eighth one in the last twenty-four minutes." Jazz unknowingly answered his thoughts. Danny looked up morosely.

Jazz's gaze softened at his miserable look. "Look, Danny. I know you're frustrated at the situation, but look on the bright side. You only have—" Jazz paused to look at a timer they had set up for how long Danny Phantom would be out of commission "—a little more than four hours to go. That's almost half-way!"

Danny scowled at her positivity. That only meant he had been getting his butt handed to him for the last four hours by ghosts he normally wouldn't have given a second thought about.

"That's once every three minutes." a voice spoke up.

"Hey, Tucker," Danny muttered a greeting. He wanted to go off into a corner and hide. It was humiliating being this bad at ghost hunting when he had been doing it for quite some time now. He wasn't even this bad when he first started.

"Dude, when you get your powers back, you are so going to kick butt. And when this is all over, I'm going to take great pleasure in teaching you the ways of ghost hunting _without_ powers." Tucker smirked, but at seeing the chagrin at the jab he added, "Don't feel too bad about it, Danny. I wasn't that great at it either when I first started. I just needed some time and practice. _You_, on the other hand, have only practiced _with_ ghost powers. Even when you were human you could still access them to use them."

"I've already thought of all that," Danny commented, "but that doesn't—" he paused to sigh, "…I'm only useful for my ghost powers."

"Well, I'm not gonna lie, having you with ghost powers is pretty swee—_ow!_ Jazz! I wasn't done!" Tucker complained rubbing his upper arm. "What I was _going_ to say was: having you with ghost powers is pretty sweet, _but_," Tucker looked pointedly at Jazz, "you are more than the sum of your parts. Your ghost powers don't make or break you as a part of this team!"

Danny gave him a strange look. "So what you're saying is that I'm better than some parts of me?"

Thinking that Danny had understood him perfectly, Tucker nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, exactly!"

Understanding exactly what was going on, Jazz intervened. "Danny, he's using a math metaphor. It basically means that you as a whole is better than any one part of you." Danny nodded in understanding. Satisfied that her brother understood, she turned to the other boy, "Tucker, you should know better than to use a mathematical metaphor with Danny! Why would you do something like that?"

Tucker looked sheepish for a moment before his eyes widened in alarm, "Uh… guys…?"

"What, Tucker?" Danny questioned. "You look like you've seen a—" Danny paused as he realized that was a very real possibility. Danny and Jazz both turned to look behind them and did _not_ see a ghost. That, however, was not a relief. Instead, they saw the cause of all their problems—Vlad Masters.

The man was smiling down at them his eyes specifically fixed on Danny. "My dear boy," he began, "it seems that you have been having a terrible time aspiring to be like your imbecilic oaf of a father."

Danny growled. He did not have any desire to sit here with no powers and listen to this fruitloop degrade his dad. "What do you want, Plasmium?" the boy questioned then added, "We know you increased the ghost activity around here." He then folded his arms and smirked, "I would think that as the _mayor_, you would be more _responsible_ than that."

The man's smile didn't falter. If anything it widened. "I was only thinking what a pity it would be if your parents were to…see all the recordings of you being injured because of your aspirations to be a ghost hunter _just like them_." As he was saying this, he produced a device to show several short video clips of Danny using ghost tech that obviously belonged to his parents and being shot by ghost ectoplasmic rays several times in rapid succession to each other. "How worried they might be." the man continued, "How _excited_ they might be…" he added with a smirk.

Danny did not seem to follow the man's thinking, but Jazz did. "You get rid of those videos and don't show them to Mom and Dad!" she demanded. "You know Danny will only get hurt if you do."

Vlad seemed to take her words deep into consideration before replying, "But what kind of caring uncle would I be not to show the utmost concern for sweet Daniel… Besides," he added, "I have a reason for increasing local ghost activity." He fixed them all with a stern glare before continuing, "You need to, as you might call it, 'bottom out' of this fight."

"No _way!_/Okay." Danny and Jazz both answered at the same time.

They both looked at each other before Danny yelled out, "Jazz, what are you thinking? We can't just surrender like that! So what if Vlad shows the video to Mom and Dad! It's not like it shows me in my ghost form."

Jazz pressed her lips together before replying, "You're right, Danny. It _doesn't_ show you in your ghost form, but it does show something almost as bad." Danny furrowed his brows in confusion. Seeing this, his sister supplied, "It shows that you are _interested_ in ghost hunting, Danny, and that you're _bad_ at it. It shows that you need to be taught by a trained professional. Now, imagine if Mom and Dad were to see that video. They would be overjoyed by your 'secret wish' to become a ghost hunter just like them. They would _insist_ on teaching you, and showing you how to use new tech—weapons—and we already know how bad it is when they're just _showcasing_ them to you. Imagine how much worse it would be if they were to force you to _practice _using them constantly. Either you will get seriously hurt or your secret will be discovered within maybe a week!"

Danny gaped at his sister's words. Could it really get that bad. He looked back over at the billionaire who was smiling even more than before. He then looked over at Tucker. "What about you?" Danny asked his friend "Do you agree with what she said?"

Tucker's lips pressed together in a thin line as he nodded. Danny closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This couldn't be happening. "Alright." Danny hissed through clenched teeth.

"Ah-ah…" Vlad wagged a finger at him. "I'm not letting you off that easy, boy!" The man looked like he was enjoying this immensely. "Although your attempts to do some, ahem, 'ghost hunting' have been hilariously unsuccessful, your group still has set me back a little. Since I feel that I cannot fully trust you to not attempt to stop me, I am going to insist that you meet me outside of town at a secluded location." The man paused to give it a moment's thought. "The train tracks is an acceptable location. You must meet me there to have your powers short-circuited for merely two more hours. That will make ten full hours that you have no ghost powers, and I do not think that will be too detrimental to your health." the man looked at Danny expectantly.

"And if I don't…" Danny seemed to know there was some sort of stipulation that Vlad would add.

"Then I suppose dear Madison and Jack will have a very interesting video to watch tonight…" Vlad hinted with a smirk.

"I'll be there." Danny folded his arms and narrowed his eyes. "Ten minutes before my powers return."

Vlad paused for a moment to think before nodding approvingly, "If that is your wish, I suppose I can allow that ten minute window."

"Very generous of you, Vlad." Jazz commented with an eye roll.

Vlad raised his eyebrows at her comment before beginning to walk away. "I shall see you then. Ta!"

There was a tense silence for a few moments after the man left before Tucker broke it. "Well, on the bright side, it's almost like we're getting a break…" he tried.

"I guess we can do some snooping around to find out what Vlad's evil scheme is…" Jazz offered. "I mean, with the four of us, we can really cover a lot of ground!"

Danny and Tucker's eyes both widened as they realized they had forgotten something—or rather some_one_—very important. They both turned to face each other as they yelled out in unison, "SAM!"

* * *

_Four hours later..._

Danny _refused_ to stomp his foot in frustration. That would be childish. And how his luck had been going today, Vlad would show up just in time to see him acting childish, and he did _not _want that. The man had a low enough opinion of him as it is.

The group had updated Sam on what was going on, and she agreed with Jazz. Split up, cover more ground, and try to find out what this was all about! They had come up with nothing. Half an hour before they were supposed to meet Vlad, they reassembled to figure out what to do about Danny meeting with the man. _Technically, _the man had said nothing about Danny coming alone, _however,_ if it appeared that Danny had come alone, then one of his friends could shadow the man to figure out _what he was up to_.

The plan was simple: Vlad comes, Danny loses his powers, Vlad leaves, and Jazz would follow Vlad as best as she could keeping in mind that Vlad did have powers that could frustrate those plans. Danny was also given a tracking device to try to plant on Vlad. Tucker would track it via his PDA, and Sam would go to that location in the event Jazz could no longer follow him. They all were fitted with comm-links that also served as a GPS signal. It was an easy plan that impressed everyone with its simplicity and duplicity. Danny was very proud to have come up with it.

As Danny waited for the man, he entertained himself by walking on the railroad tracks. _Why does everybody always do this when they're on railroad tracks? _Danny mused to himself. Jumping off, Danny made himself stand and wait patiently. _Come on! Where __**is**_ _he? I've been standing here for almost…ten minutes. _Danny felt like an idiot. Of course the man would make him stand here for ten minutes doing nothing!

A chilled wind swept by, and Danny shivered. "I suppose you did not realize this, but you are more susceptible to temperature change without your ghost powers. It just comes with having a ghost core." A voice behind Danny startled him.

Danny had had it. He had a pretty rotten morning before all of this with Vlad happened. He was thankful that it was summer time, so there was no school tomorrow, but so far, that had been the only thing about today that was positive. Here he was tired, hungry, frustrated, and had no powers before his enemy who was about to make sure that he was about to lose his powers again for another two hours.

"Just get it over with." is what he _wanted_ to say, but he had a mission.

_I need to place the tracker on him._

"Vlad…" he began. He realized that he sounded tired. "what are you playing at here? What's your _endgame?_" He lifted his gaze and saw the man regarding him seriously. Vlad sat down on one of the tracks and patted a place next to him. Hesitantly, Danny sat in the indicated spot. They sat silently for a moment both simply staring at the stars. A man and a boy. Both halfas yet both enemies by some twist of fate.

"Daniel." the man regarded him, "What do you see when you look up there?"

Danny looked strangely at the man and held back a comment about that being a "fruitloop question." Instead he though for a moment before replying, "Billions of stars… planets… galaxies… it's endless. We will never be able to see all that's out there."

Vlad watched as the younger halfa stared in awe by the heavens. "That's what I want, Daniel." Vlad slipped an arm around the boy and gestured open-handed to the celestial bodies. "To reach—to _possess_—what is determined by everyone else to be…_unreachable._" At that final word, Vlad's hand closed into a fist. The effect made it appear as if the man had been presenting it to Danny before snatching it up.

Danny pondered for a moment. _What does Vlad think is "unreachable"? Definitely my mom..._

Danny supposed that Vlad's little mini-speech was supposed to be _inspiring_, but coming from the man, he felt that he couldn't appreciate it to its fullest capacity. _Wait a minute… He's avoiding the question!_ Danny realized. "You didn't exactly answer the question." Danny pointed out.

"Now, Daniel," Vlad smirked at him, "you cannot expect me to tell you _everything_ I am doing. After all, I do have important mayoral duties to attend to…" Vlad added airily.

"Ugh!" Danny exclaimed shoving him as he staggered to his feet. "You're—You're…Ugh! I can't stand you sometimes, Plasmius." Danny turned around to see the man standing with the Plasmius Maximus ready for use.

"I see you are done talking now, however, if you wish to continue this conversation, allow me to give you a way to communicate with me in a moment's notice." The man handed Danny a small device just large enough to fit in the palm of his hand. "Simply press this button to contact me." the man explained handing it to boy.

"Just get it over with." Danny echoed the words he had wanted to say earlier.

"I'm going to enjoy this." The man stated simply before stepping toward the younger halfa. Without any further pomp, he thrust the Plasmius Maximus into the boy's side.

Danny screamed. He knew the moment was just that—a moment. That moment, however, seemed to last hours. He was in agony. What made it worse was that in the split second before he was shocked he felt his ghost core flicker to life before it was brutally snuffed out again. It wouldn't have been so bad if he had not felt that momentary connection with his ghost half. Danny's dramatic side mentally pictured his ghost half as a man dying of thirst who was given some water but was only allowed to have a small cap-full.

The moment ended, and Danny found himself on the ground with a sheen of sweat on his skin. For a small moment he simply stared into the sky panting. The moment was ruined when Vlad's face appeared in his field of vision. His face showed concern for the boy. He, apparently, did not expect this second shock to affect the boy like this. Danny face contorted into a snarl as he growled. "Get away! Get away, Vlad, get _away!_"

Vlad hesitated for a moment before taking a step back. The man turned his back on the younger halfa and began a purposeful march away from the boy. Vlad paused for a moment, then looked over his shoulder to the boy, "I will 'get away' from you, but you must stay out of _my way_ or someone is going to end up hurt." With that, the man left Danny laying next to the tracks. In his rage, Danny took the communication device the man had given him and threw it as far as he could.

* * *

_Dude! Did you get the tracker planted?!_ Tucker asked as soon as the man was gone.

Danny groaned. He was sore all over, and now he had Tucker yelling in his ear. He reached up to the comm Tucker had provided for all of them to wear. "Uhh…Yeah." Danny moaned out.

_We won't need it,_ insisted his sister's voice over the comms. _I'm on his trail. He's following the train tracks._

_I can see him on my PDA, and I can see that your comm is connected, Jazz. Good job. I wish __**everybody**_ _would connect their comm… _Tucker's voice carried a hint of sarcasm.

_I __**know **__you're talking about me, Tucker, but I just can't seem to figure this out! _Sam's voice seemed irritated. _I wish this was a little easier. Like some sort of button or switch or—oh…_ There was a pause over the comms.

_There we go, Sam! I can see you on the GPS now._ Praised Tucker.

_Alright, guys, let's get a bit serious here. _Jazz interrupted. _He's ahead of me, but still in my sight. I'll have to keep quiet though so he doesn't hear me. Oh, and keep a lookout for any sharp metal pieces on the railroad tracks. They're a bit old, and it's dark, and I almost stepped on one, so…_

There was silence for several minutes that seemed to fray on everybody's nerves. Finally, Tucker spoke up over the comms, _Jazz, I don't know if you realize this, but he's heading away from town. Like, in the opposite direction._

_I know, but what if whatever he's doing is out of town… _Jazz mused. _That wouldn't be __**unheard of.**_ She pointed out. _He __**is**_ _from Wisconsin._

Danny cut in, _Ok, but… be careful, Jazz._

* * *

Danny, Sam, and Tucker had met up in their spare time. Tucker was busy monitoring the GPS signal from the tracker and Jazz's comm. They remained equi-distant from each other. Everything seemed to be going smoothly until—

_Guys! _Jazz's voice cut through the comm-link _He's flying away. Initiate Phase Two._

Sam didn't need to be told twice. She was off with a small device that was connected to Vlad's tracker. _It looks like he circled back towards town. I guess he realized what we did and is trying to throw us off his trail._

Danny pounded his fist into the ground. He felt like he was wasting his time just sitting here. Usually, he was the one out on the field doing groundwork, but now… Now he couldn't help with anything. _I just wish I could do __**something!**_ He thought angrily with himself.

"Jazz, are you headed back?" Tucker asked into the comm.

_One step ahead of you! I started as soon as Vlad took off. You guys take care of things on your end and I'll—AHHH!_ Jazz was suddenly cut off from her comm.

"JAZZ!" her friends called out in worry for her.

"She's not answering, Danny…" That itself was worrisome enough, but Danny could hear a note of pain in her scream when she had been cut off.

"Show me where she is." Danny immediately instructed Tucker. "I'm going to make sure she's alright."

Tucker pointed to her dot that represented her location. "Here."

Danny didn't waste any time. He began sprinting in the direction the GPS had indicated. _Danny, _Tucker's voice came over the comm _all you have to do is follow the tracks. She's somewhere along them._

Danny didn't answer. He was saving his breath for the long run he would have before he would get to his sister.

* * *

Jazz was not normally one to be clumsy, but she had really done it this time. _I thought this kind of thing only happened in movies and TV shows…_ Jazz internally complained to herself. Her foot was caught on the railroad track which wouldn't be such a big deal as there was no train coming and she could, in theory, very easily get it uncaught.

There was one problem though… Well, maybe more than one… Her foot was not just _stuck_ it was _impaled, _and when she had fallen, the metal piece that her foot was "stuck" on bent from the force of her fall_._ Her foot was hurting, yes, but that wasn't the extent of it. When she had fallen, she had also slammed her elbow against the track, and, she was pretty sure, shattered it. Again, it wouldn't be such a big deal if it was not her right elbow (her dominant hand), but it was. She was also pretty sure she had hit her head on the way down, but there was no way of knowing. It was all a blur really… It also wasn't helping that the moon was only half full—there wasn't very much lighting to see (not that she couldn't have done much anyway…).

She shakily reached her hand to touch her foot. Her body was trying to catch up with all the things that had simultaneously happened to her. She quickly pulled her hand back with a cry only to cry out again as her jerk back had jostled her injuries. _Okay, I get it. No more moving! _She promised herself as she settled down and did her best not to cry. She also had an increasing headache which she knew was _not_ good. Her head wasn't _bleeding_, at least. When everything was said and done, she could feel her foot, head, and elbow throbbing all together. Was it her imagination, or was it synchronized with her heartbeat?

_I need to let them know what happened._ The logical part of her mind supplied. She reached up to activate her comm-link and was surprised when she found nothing attached to her ear. She looked around sluggishly and caught sight of it several feet down the track. _There's no way… I can't get that! My body isn't even that long… _Jazz would have yelled with the small hope that the comm could still pick her voice up, but she knew that the microphone on it could only be activated by pressing the button on the side.

Jazz could feel panic bubbling up inside her. _No, Jazz! No panicking allowed. If you panic, you're as good as dead._ That wayward thought brought up an unpleasant image. Jazz shook her head to get rid of it only to regret it as her headache worsened. _Okay, Jasmine Fenton. Positive thought it is, then. At least… At least there's no train coming… _Her thoughts were interrupted by a faint whistle blowing. _Uhmmm…_ _Maybe a little bit of panic is okay…_

* * *

Tucker waited and watched. What else could he do? He had sat down several feet away from the railroad tracks. He had his PDA in his hand and watched the screen. Two dots—Vlad's and Sam's—were the only things he was focused on. His focus, however, was ruined by an approaching train blowing its whistle. Tuckers head shot up, and his eyes widened in horror. He reached up to his comm-link and connected with Danny. "Uhm… Danny…? We have a problem."

_Yeah? _Danny's ragged voice came over the comm. Tucker could tell he was giving it everything he had, but Danny might have to give a bit more than that…

"There's a train coming down the tracks." There was silence on the other end. "Danny…"

_You need…to stop it… _Danny panted between phrases. _We don't know…if Jazz…is still…on the tracks…or not…, but we know…her comm is.…_ Danny paused. Apparently, sprinting and talking could not be done at the same time. _We can't take that chance. _He finished more strongly.

Tucker nodded. "I'll try to stop it or slow it down, but I'm not sure I will be able to…"

_You can do it. _Danny gasped out. _I know you can! _He paused for a moment longer before adding, _Tucker… please tell me…I'm close…_

Tucker checked his PDA. "You're closing in on her. Or her comm-link at least… I really hope she's not separated from it, or it will be a lot harder finding her." Tucker stood to his feet and placed his PDA in a safe location outside the railroad area.

_I disagree. _Stated Danny. _I hope…she's off the tracks… It would be...safer for her…if she's not… on them..._

Tucker didn't respond to that. He knew Danny made a very good point. This could turn deadly very quickly. "Danny, please, stay off the tracks." he pleaded before he himself ran over to the tracks.

It was all up to Tucker now. He just _had_ to stop that train! He began waving his arms frantically to get the conductor's attention. _What am I even going to tell him? "Hi, my friend is farther down the track, and his sister is even __**farther**_ _down the track, and we don't know if she's okay…" _Tucker shook his head to clear it. _Let's do this._

* * *

Darias wiped his face for what seemed to be the hundredth time. He hated being a train engineer, but it paid fairly decent and it _did_ keep him fairly active. The one thing that he most definitely hated the most was the kids. Oh, he didn't have kids riding the trains, it was more the kids in the towns they went through would always dare each other to "egg the train" or "play chicken with the train." Honestly, it irked him that kids would try to play around with something so _dangerous!_ Didn't they know they could be hurt! He had seen too many news stories throughout his life—before and after he became a train engineer—of young people getting killed because they thought they could outrun a train, or they were playing around with it too much.

Additionally, in the past few weeks, many trains have been robbed. He had to admit, the setup was very clever. The thieves would place old, empty, broken-down cars on the tracks (not all the time, but that seemed to be their favorite) so the train would stop. Once the train was stopped, the thieves would board the train and rob it. All trains had been given official instructions not to stop for any reason unless they were contacted by the authorities to do so. This satisfied Darias. It's about time people started using common sense. He wanted the thieves to just _try_ to rob him!

He suddenly noticed a figure down the tracks. Leaning forward and squinting, Darias saw the distinguishable shape of a young man trying frantically to flag down the train. The young man did indeed seem to be genuinely distressed about something, but… orders were orders. "Get out of the way, kid." he muttered under his breath. "I'm not stopping for you."

Seeing that the boy was firm in his resolve, the man set his jaw. "There's nothing to steal from this train! Just move out of the way!" The man realized the boy was not moving.

"So… that's how it's gonna be. I don't know if this is just some dumb kids playing chicken or if it really is the thieves, but I will not _stop_." With those words, he sped the locomotive up as he blew the train's whistle in warning. _I'm not gonna stop, so please…just __**move! **_Darius closed his eyes and fervently prayed there was no impact.

* * *

Tucker's eyes widened. _He's not slowing down. He's __**not**_ _slowing down! _Tucker stood there staring the train down as it almost seemed that the train sped _up_ as it blew its whistle. The tracks shook violently, and the lights became blinding. At the last second, Tucker threw himself off the tracks.

With a grunt, he rolled down the knoll and stopped as his momentum subsided. Picking himself up from the ground, he turned to see the train continue down the track. Down the track and towards his friends!

With a shaking hand, he reached for his comm. "Danny…? Danny, I—I couldn't do it! It's still headed for you! I'm—I'm so sorry!"

_Jazz is stuck on the tracks. I can't get her off! Tucker, I don't know what to do…! _Danny's frantic voice came through.

"I'll try to do something, but I don't think there's much more I can do!" Tucker answered back. He looked around frantically for something he could use to help. Where had he left his PDA? Tucker froze as he seemed to realize where it was. Slowly, he looked toward the train.

"Please don't tell me I jumped on the other side of the train from my PDA…" he muttered to himself.

"Arrg!" In his frustration, Tucker grabbed his hat and threw it on the ground in front of him. In the microsecond before his hat landed, his eyes landed on a different piece of technology—technology that was not his but that could still be useful. Tucker picked up his hat then picked up the object. "Please let this work…" he said to himself.

* * *

Danny just couldn't believe that his sister was so far out! He still didn't see her. He must have been running for a mile straight at least! To make matters worse, he was pretty sure was running up a slight incline. _Hopefully, downhill is a bit easier… _No sooner had he had that thought, than he crested the hill.

"Jazz!" Danny called out to her as he caught sight of his sister. She was slumped down on the railroad track cradling her right arm. Her eyes which had been squeezed shut in pain and panic opened, and she looked over at her brother.

"Danny!" she stood slowly as she cried out, "I'm stuck here. My foot—My foot is caught!" Her voice carried a sense of urgency. Danny slowed as he reached her, but said nothing as he was out of breath. "I can't use my hand because my elbow is hurt." Jazz continued to explain. "I've tried to get it out, but I just…can't…"

Without wasting any time, Danny reached down to where her foot was caught. He was startled by his sister's cry of pain. He pulled back his hand quickly and looked up at his sister for an explanation. "My foot is impaled." She explained. "And the metal is bent, so I can't just pull it off."

Danny's lips set in a determined line. He needed to evaluate it a bit more before working on it. Danny worked in silence for a moment before grunting in frustration. "I wish we had more light…" he grumbled. "Even if I still had my _powers_, I would be able to use my ghost vision to see better. And if I had my powers, I would just phase your foot off the metal."

After feeling that he had looked at it as much as he could, he reached for the jagged metal piece that had pierced Jazz's foot. _Got it! Now all I have to do it unbend it. If it was straight before, it __**should**_ _be able to bend back that way… _He thought triumphantly as he grabbed it firmly and gave it a hard pull. His hand slipped, and he gasped as he almost lost his balance before going back and trying again. He grabbed it differently this time but frowned as he realized something. The metal was now wet. _Are my hands __**that**_ _sweaty…Yikes! _He pulled again and yelled out in pain.

Bringing up his hand to his face, he stared at it in horror. He had sliced his hand open. The cut was very deep and bleeding heavily. He looked up at Jazz who had a similar look on her face.

Before either of them could say anything, Danny and Jazz heard a distant train whistle. Jazz looked worried, but Danny relaxed. "It's okay. Tucker is stopping it." he explained. His sister looked relieved, but it was not to last.

Danny's comm activated. _Danny… Danny, I—I couldn't do it! It's still headed for you! I'm—I'm so sorry!_

"Jazz is stuck on the tracks. I can't get her off! Tucker, I don't know what to do…!" Danny frantically answered him.

_I'll try to do something, but I don't think there's much more I can do!_ Tucker replied hurriedly.

Danny stared in horror at his sister. "It's still coming." In a frenzied hurry, Danny continued to try to loosen the metal piece from Jazz's foot, but to no avail. With his hand injured, poor lighting, and the metal piece now being slippery with blood, it now seemed an impossible task to get his sister free. Danny realized that this was not working. "What are we gonna do…?" He breathed.

* * *

**(*)**

Vlad Masters felt that usually fate did not look upon him favorably. Today was no exception. All his plans that he had been attempting to execute all day had come with its various hiccups. It was all looking as if the whole day would go to waste. The one satisfying thing from the day was getting the best of Daniel and his little friends. Vlad would have allowed himself a small smirk if it had not been for one small detail. He had accidentally shocked himself with the Plasmius Maximus not too long ago.

While he was immersed in these thoughts, he received a notification that Daniel was trying to reach him via the device Vlad had given him. Though Vlad was glad Daniel was reaching out to him, the timing seemed a bit suspicious. He had estimated Daniel to take a few days or maybe weeks… Ah, well! He wasn't going to complain. He pressed a button to connect the two devices.

"Daniel, I'm so glad you called."

_Vlad._ answered a voice that was most definitely not Daniel. Vlad frowned and was about to hang up on Daniel's little friend, but the voice continued. _Danny needs help!_

Vlad said nothing. Instead he waited patiently for the voice to continue. "He and Jazz are up the railroad tracks, and there's a train coming. Jazz is _stuck_ on the tracks, and you know Danny's not gonna move without her… Oh, the train's gone!"

Vlad was not listening as the boy was apparently running to find "my baby" (whatever that meant…). He felt his stomach drop. If Jasmine was indeed stuck on the tracks, he wouldn't put it past Daniel to not abandon her. With his powers missing, he would be all but useless to be of any aid to his sister. _I need to help Daniel._ He decided.

There was one problem with that. He had no way of getting _to_ Daniel to help him. Vlad took a moment to think before replying, "Do you have a way to connect me with Daniel's communication device he has on him? I saw he had one while I was with him."

This was going to be difficult. If Jasmine was stuck in the location he left her (which he knew she was _not_, but he was being speculative), that was close to a mile away from the group's original spot (where he assumed Daniel's friend to be at the moment). That left him with less than a mile between her and the train. He knew that trains traveled close to sixty miles per hour under normal conditions, he could only hope this there were abnormal conditions tonight…

That gave them only about one minute to be able to talk Danny through what he needed to do. Probably less than that if he was being completely honest.

There was silence for a moment before Danny's voice was heard over the comm. **_Vlad?_** The boy sounded genuinely confused.

Without wasting another moment, Vlad dove into his instructions for the boy. "Daniel, I understand you are in dire need of your ghost powers now, but they are unavailable to you."

Vlad could imagine the boy scowling at his comment. _Yeah. It would be really helpful right now. Too bad a __**fruitloop**_ _took them away for another hour or so…_

Ignoring Danny's jab, Vlad continued. "There is a way to get them back early." The man didn't give the boy a chance to reply. Time was running out. "Daniel, those powers are _your powers._ There's no machine that can 'take them away'. Your ghost half is literally a part of your DNA, and you cannot simply _get rid of it._ My invention simply makes your core go _dormant_, but if you exert enough concentration and energy into your core, you could awaken it early. It is heavily taxing on you, so you should only do it in extreme emergencies."

_Well, this is an "extreme emergency"... I'll have to give it a try._

Vlad could tell the conversation was over. He lowered his communication device and turned around just in time to see Sam emerge from the bushes. They locked eyes for a moment to read each other. Sam could hardly read Vlad, but Vlad could see her determined look. She wasn't going to back down.

Before the girl could make demands or accusations, the man addressed her. "Go home, Miss Manson. We are done for today." With those simple words, Vlad Masters turned and walked away.

* * *

_I'm not getting out of here… _Jazz realized. She stifled a sob as she looked down at her brother who was still doing everything to free his sister. Before she could wallow any more in her morbid thoughts, Danny began receiving communications on his comm.

_Danny, Vlad wants to speak to you._ Jazz barely heard what Tucker said.

Danny's eyes widened disbelievingly. **"Vlad?**" he echoed incredulously.

Before Danny could tell Tucker _no this is a bad idea_, Danny heard the man's voice over the comm. _Daniel, I understand you are in dire need of your ghost powers now, but they are unavailable to you._

Danny scowled at his comment. It was just like the man to rub it in. Danny honestly didn't want to hear anything the man had to say. He decided to remind the man exactly _why it was_ that he was in this situation in the first place. "Yeah. It _would_ be really helpful right now. Too bad a _fruitloop_ took them away for another hour or so…"

Ignoring Danny's jab, Vlad continued. _There is a way to get them back early._ Danny wasn't so sure about that. He could feel that there was no connection with his core anymore. Even what he was not in his ghost form, he could still _feel_ that connection. Now, it was simply _not there._

The man continued before Danny could say anything. _Daniel, those powers are __**your**_ _**powers.**_ _There's no machine that can 'take them away'. Your ghost half is literally a part of your DNA, and you cannot simply __**get rid of it.**_ _My invention simply makes your core go __**dormant**__, but if you exert enough concentration and energy into your core, you could awaken it early. It is heavily taxing on you, so you should only do it in extreme emergencies._

_Oh, consequences...fun..._ "Well, this is an "extreme emergency"... I'll have to give it a try."

Danny had no time to lose. He sat down next to Jazz and closed his eyes. _Concentrate on your core, and put energy in it…_ Danny could feel the place his core usually lay inactive. He explored it further until he noticed something. It was the tiniest of sparks, and it was a green color. _That must be it!_ Without any more though, Danny poured as much energy into that small spark as he could. The spark soon became brighter and brighter until it was shining of its own volition. A glowing orb solidified itself with the young halfa. _I did it!_ Danny thought ecstatically.

* * *

Jazz sat watching her brother. He appeared to be deep in concentration, and she didn't want to break him from it. She had noticed that the train was approaching quickly though. She was debating within herself whether she should attempt to get her brother's attention when she suddenly was blinded by her brother's transformation rings. _He did it!_

Danny revealed a glowing green pair of eyes from beneath his eyelids, and Jazz couldn't help but laugh in relief. Danny gave her a soft smile before gently grabbing her and turning her intangible to get her off the tracks. "To the hospital with you." Danny told her seriously as he began flying that direction. Jazz held onto him tightly and began weeping. She wasn't sad, per se, but she realized that everything could have turned out so much worse.

**A/N: There. Wasn't that so much better? lol. I may go back and edit this chapter... I'm not so sure I'm completely satisfied with it.**

**And as always, thanks for reading!**


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